| The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. | The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. |
| Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life. | When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future. |
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| Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor. | Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. |
| A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. | Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. |
| Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! | Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. |
| Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. | Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. |
| But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. | So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. |
| Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. | Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. |
| In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. | In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. |
| The grapevines have dried up, and the fig trees have withered. The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees— all the fruit trees—have dried up. And the people’s joy has dried up with them. | The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away. |
| And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. | So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. |
| Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. | Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. |
| Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! | Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. |
| You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. | For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. |
| If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. | If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. |
| I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. | No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. |
| Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. | Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. |
| And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. | Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. |
| Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. | Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. |
| Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. | For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. |
| Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. | Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. |
| One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty. | Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. |
| When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. | When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. |
| The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. | Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. |
| I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. | My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. |
